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Bathymetry at the head of the Cape Fear Slide, offshore North Carolina

January 1, 1992

The Cape Fear Slide is the largest mass-movement that has been observed on the U.S. Atlantic Margin. It is located off the Carolinas on the continental rise in approximately 1,200-5,500 m water depth and extends downslope for over 300 km (Popenoe, 1982). These maps show the bathymetry at the head of the Cape Fear Slide as interpreted from single-channel 3.5 kHz seismic-reflection profiles and mid-range Sea Marc I sidescan sonar imagery (Popenoe, 1985; Popenoe and others, 1991; Schmuck, 1991). The 3.5 kHz data consist of over 1000 km of profiles that were collected in 1988 for the University of North Carolina, Department of Geology. The UNC 3.5 kHz data were used as the main data set in interpreting the bathymetry. The sidescan sonar data were collected in 1980 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Environmental Studies Program. Only 28 km (5 km swath width) of the sidescan data were used in the interpretation to identify the morphology of the main slump scarp and visible secondary scarps.

Publication Year 1992
Title Bathymetry at the head of the Cape Fear Slide, offshore North Carolina
DOI 10.3133/mf2209
Authors Eric A. Schmuck, Peter Popenoe, Charles K. Paull, Carol Brown
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Miscellaneous Field Studies Map
Series Number 2209
Index ID mf2209
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse